Book Club - Love and Summer by William Trevor

Last night I attended one of my book club meetings - always an enjoyable night as it consists of nibbles, wine and, of course, talk of books. On this occasion we discussed William Trevor's novel, Love and Sunshine.

None of us had read any of Trevor's previous novels, and I must admit I wasn't really looking forward to starting it. The story tells of Ellie, a young convent girl who has married a widowed Irish farmer. Although he treats her well there is no real love or passion between them. Then Ellie meets a stranger in the village and over the hot days of Summer Ellie and the stranger form an illicit attachment.

I had predicted the novel would be overly romantic and unrealistic to the point of frustration. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised - it wasn't as bad as I had expected.

However, the book club consensus went something like this: The book was slow and written in a complicated manner; worse still, nothing really happened.

Characterisation was another issue. Put aside the fact that all the characters were under developed and one dimensional; there were numerous characters that could easily have been excluded from the novel, their presence adding nothing worthwhile. What's more, the female characters were weak, badly treated by the men they cared for and dull - this is something irritating for a female reader.

Perhaps, I have been unfair in the portrayal of this book. It is an easy read, and the descriptions do create some beautiful images of the Irish countryside. But if I'm honest, there are much better novels out there.

Theatre: Antony and Cleopatra

Last night a friend and I took a trip to Stratford to see Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. It was the first time I have been to the RSC's Swan theatre, and I have to say that it is a small but fantastic venue. It had an intimate and traditional feel, and looking around I couldn't see a bad seat in the house. What's more the tickets were a bargain, and the seat's relatively comfy.


I always enjoy Stratford at night - I think there is something rather magical about it. As we walked along the river and into the old church (which is now the theatre), passing various Shakespeare-inspired bars and restaurants, my friend and I marvelled at how lucky we were (particularly as English students) to live near a town with such literary heritage and beautiful surroundings.

As for the play - wonderful. Neither of us had seen or read Antony and Cleopatra before. We had hoped the production would include a traditional setting as we were excited by the prospect of a stage alight with the numerous rich colours and fabrics of the Egyptian costume. However, Director Michael Boyd, opted for a modern-dress version. The staging, was also modern and minimal, including only a few chairs that were carried on and off, and scaffolding in the centre of the stage creating a higher, bare platform. Yet, somehow this worked. It served as an entirely blank canvas that the performers could bounce off.


And bounce off it they did. Katy Stephens was spellbinding as Cleopatra. Her energy onstage was something to be admired, she skipped, jumped and walked on stage with a light-footed grace and captured all the contradictions of Egypt's Queen. Stephens' Cleopatra is feisty, dramatic and calculating, yet romantic, weak and tender. One thing the audience can be sure of is Cleopatra's sexuality. Stephens ensures sex is in the essence of her Cleopatra, from her walk to her clothing to her deliverance of lines.

As one of Shakespeare's tragedies, I was surprised by how much comedy this play had to offer. Rather than just an examination of the devious nature of politics, the play explores love and emphasises how Antony and Cleopatra lose their way to lust and even self-delusion. Moments such as Cleopatra's summoning and interrogation of a messenger over Antony's new bride Octavia, adding light to the play, making it more accessible to the modern audience, while showcasing the ability of the cast for all genres.


The incorporation of dance in the battle scenes was mesmerising and unusual. I watched in awe as Cleopatra and her army took slow but steady steps off stage, waving white scarves above their heads. This repetitive movement served to represent Cleopatra's fleets abandoning Antony at sea in the heat of battle. But this form was used on such rare occasion that it sat at odds with the rest of the production; if more had been made of dance it would have been an eloquent addition.

The King's Speech: Film Review

The King's Speech is tipped for Oscar glory, and it's no surprise. A richly enjoyable, crowd-pleaser with big ambitions and a full political and social back story.

Based on the true story of Albert, Duke of York (Colin Firth), who, for as long as anyone can remember has struggled with a stammer; so severe at times he cannot form any words at all. His father, George V (Michael Gambond) mistakes harsh instructions with medicine, and the doctors sought aren't any better as they stuff Albert's mouth with marbles and tell him that smoking will help relax his lungs. Eventually, Albert's wife (Helena Bonham-Carter) takes the matter into her own hands and discovers a failed Australian actor turned speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), to help cure her husband.

What entails is a battle for control. The dialogue between Albert and Logue is sharp, witty and fascinating: it is this interaction that powers the movie forward and grips the viewer. Albert insists on formality and rules, he requires help in purely physical terms, not emotionally, personally or psychologically. But Logue considers it to be his castle and therefore his rules. Gradually, the sessions turn to therapy as a friendship is formed between the two and Albert begins to open up. A new side of Albert is revealed as the audience learns how Albert lost his brother at a young age, was starved by his childhood nannies and teased terribly by his brothers.

Firth is immaculate from the opening scene, where both he and an audience at Wembley Stadium suffer prolonged embarrassment, as he struggles to deliver a speech. I doubt anyone has ever looked as sick with fear as Firth does at the beginning of this scene. His vocal performance is unquestionably good - it cannot be easy to learn to stammer - stirring emotions, yet never becoming wholly a subject of pity. Instead, Firth's Albert is short-tempered, prone to self-pity and snobbery. He is utterly absorbing.

Helena Bonham-Carter is pitch perfect. A sharp tongued, assured yet touchingly supportive royal wife. I might go as far as to suggest it is her best work to date, if only I had seen more of her.

Guy Pearce executes the frustratingly self-absorbed, glamorous older brother David to a tee, and strong support is added by Derek Jacobi as the worrisome and interfering Archbishop of Canterbury. I was also pleased to see Romona Marquez (from the BBC's Outnumbered) playing the young Princess Margaret.

Despite the topic The King's Speech is never overly sentimental, and with it's neat inclusion of the rise of Fascism and Hitler, the Depression and the development of technology, and media with it, it travels beyond the expectations of a British period drama.

Eloquently and beautifully shot, the film turns the royal establishment into individuals, each with their own story. One critic suggested this may even leave 'a patriotic lump in the throat' of the viewer - a grand achievement today if there ever was one.

Book Club - Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Though short, this novel is crammed with weighty ideas and hidden levels of meaning - when reading it, one can chose whether to accept it on face value, or whether to explore and probe its hidden depths.

Ideas of race, morality, education and identity spill out of the pages, and yet never feel forced upon the reader. The charming, innocent voice of the narrator, a 13-year-old black girl, Matilda, ensures a child like, light hearted tone is maintained.

Set in the 1990s on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, the story follows the community of a village as they struggle to live during a bloody civil war. Matilda's father has left to work in Australia, leaving Matilda and her Mother alone.

One day, Mr Watts, the only white man in the village and previously known to the children as Pop Eye, appoints himself as teacher and sits the children down in the old classroom to read them Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Within chapters the children are hooked.

The power of reading and language are vital in this novel. Jones uses literature as a form of escapism - the children chose to live in Pip's world and avoid their own dangerous reality, and even Mr Watts shelters himself through storytelling.

The inclusion of old, cultural tales shared by the children's mothers in class, was an addition that I could appreciate and understand. Yet, I found them frustrating. These passages slowed the pace of the novel and the same effect could have easily been created through a simple description. That these passages were given the same page space as significant and shocking events was deeply unsatisfying.

Critics may argue the novel rarely steps beyond stereotypes - the drunk solider, the god-fearing black woman and the wise but odd white man. But there can be no denying that the novel is emotive and intelligent. The horrifying events the reader witnesses are never sensationalised, but relayed tenderly.

The final chapters are unnecessary, except to tie up loose ends (unfortunately, this is a messy and unsuccessful attempt). However, Jones does attempt to use these pages to communicate further serious concepts, and the overall effect does not detract from the rich novel as a whole.

Book Club - The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

Credit must be given to Mr Rubenfeld, this novel suggests that he will not be a one-off sensation. Fuelled with research and attention to detail, it is a historical thriller with Shakespearean and Freudian focuses, as compelling and engaging as the Da Vinci Code from the off.

In 1909, Sigmund Freud arrived in New York, his first visit to America. The finer details of his Manhattan stay are clouded with mystery, but one can be sure they left a psychological scar. Freud expressed a great dislike of America thereafter, and blamed various neuroses on his sojourn in the great city.

Rubenfeld uses this mystery as the starting point for his first novel, intertwining fiction and reality. On the morning Freud arrives, the body of a young, beautiful debutante is discovered in her penthouse. Soon after, Nora Acton, another member of the social elite is found tied to a chandelier, with no memory of the assault, and unable to speak or identify her attacker.

With the assistance of Freud, Dr Younger, a student psycho-analysist, attempts to recover Nora's memory and discover her attacker.

The novel is packed with ravished damsels, power-hungry psycho-analysists, sinister aristocrats, complicated family relationships and corrupt police officers. There can be no doubt that Rubenfeld throws himself fully into his topic of choice, and has researched the setting (New York city in the early 1900s) with painstaking care. In fact, one of the novel's greatest feats is the detailed descriptions and information shared. The tour of the city is expansive and the detail about machinery, such as how a caisson works, and cultural systems in place at the time, is authoritative and a great asset. This detail could easily have made the book slow-moving and heavy, but combined with the never ending action, suspense and mystery there was no such problem.

I particularly enjoyed the combination of the detective genre, Freudian theories and literary references, as well as the spilt narration.

Although, Rubenfeld lacks some of the balance and skill of a more experienced writer, he makes up for it in his own confidence and conviction in his writing. A stylish novel full of twists and turns - but perhaps, too rushed and confusing an ending.

Book Club - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

I first tried to read this novel over a year ago, I picked it up, read the first page and felt underwhelmed and disappointed. I put it down and added it to my 'will read one day' list. With a Hollywood film of the novel being released this winter (and with no less than a talented star studded cast), now seemed the ideal moment to give it another go. I am so glad I did.

This time around there was no hesitant, slow beginning that I remembered (or possibly imagined) from before. Instead, there was a strong and distinct voice that gripped me from the first page. It begins somewhat hauntingly: 'My name is Kathy H. I'm thirty-one years old, and I've been a carer now for over eleven years.'

The novel follows Kathy, a 31 year old carer living in England in the late 1990s, as she looks back over her schools. What at first seems like a near-perfect childhood, full of caring guardians, fun classes and friendships, soon alters into something chilling and sinister. Words such as 'donations', 'students' and 'complete' suddenly take on new, significant but unexplained meaning.

Although a science-fiction novel in topic, there is no sign of this in the text. At the centre of the story is the enduring friendship between Kathy, Tommy and Ruth. Ishiguro refuses to discuss the finer details of cloning, making the occasional references to the process all the more terrifying.

In fact, understatement is used to great effect in the novel. The students' quiet acknowledgement of what they face in the future (they consider it to be their duty, the reader considers to be an inhumane injustice), only emphasises the reader's feelings of frustration on their behalf. The novel raises piercing questions about exploitation and humanness, more through the subtle and precise voice than through the topic itself. This stirs a range of emotions in the reader from compassion to guilt to shock.

What Kathy is unsure of, the reader is left in the dark about, and it is this excruciating curiosity that pushes the story along. Of course, the mystery and illusion keeps the reader hooked till the final word. This is one of the many strengths of the novel. Ishiguro has struck gold. There is a strong plot, careful and intelligent characterisation, and a beautifully quiet but occasionally melancholy narrative. A heart wrenching, intriguing and worthwhile read.

Eat, Prey, Love: Film Review

This film is not a typical romantic-comedy. It certainly has all the ingredients - a broken heart, some soul searching, new friendships, new romantic interests. But it is a step beyond the usual chick-flick. It is more mature and intelligent; the central theme is focused on self examination, discovery and finding a love for life. It is more a case of 'does she find happiness?' and 'does she find herself?', than 'does she get the man?'

These may sound like corny and superficial questions, and therefore you'd be forgiven for assuming the film is shallow and cheesy, but it is not. It is a sophisticated attempt to tackle issues that have plagued women for some time. And I was completely taken in.

Julia Roberts shone brightly, as always. Her portrayal of Elizabeth, a 30-something newly divorcee travelling the world, successfully combines Elizabeth's confidence in her career and writing, and her fragility and uncertainty in her sense of self.

Javier Bardem, plays Felipe, Elizabeth's new love-interest, and is surprisingly good. I, unlike most, am not a fan of Bardem. Before watching the film, I presumed he would be a poor and disappointing casting choice. Instead, he was lively, refreshing and portrayed Felipe's vulnerability and tenderness perfectly. The chemistry between himself and Roberts was realistic and heart-warming.

The film was packed with wry humour, exquisitely polished shots, strong script writing and good quality acting. The film itself was a luxury to watch. Every scene was full of colour and beauty, there was breathtaking scenery and mouthwatering food. It will not provoke an array of emotions, nor provide answers to all your own problems. But for me, it was inspirational - I am now desperate to visit Italy, and learn the language. I am also keen to become a master of Italian cooking. There is an original story here. My suggestion... wait till this comes out on dvd, then sit back with a glass of a good wine, and enjoy.